Tuesday, 27 November 2012

UPDATE: a total of 19 minutes' delay on the trip home today, making for another £47.50. This consisted of 11 minutes on the District Line to Wimbledon, which caused me to miss my connecting train to Hampton Court. Seeking to save time (which I did), I took a train to Kingston, earning another seven minutes' delay. From there, I had to take a bus home, adding another three minutes' delay to the journey (though still saving TfL money over the alternative of simply waiting half an hour at Wimbledon for the next train to Hampton Court: you're welcome). At no point on this journey was an explanation or an apology offered. Nice. Especially after a gruelling night shift with my daughter, the worst in months.

And finally, some welcome news: TfL is looking to raise funds to buy new trains and buses and to drive down fares by hiring its experts out to India as part of a proposed new consultancy arm (no snickering). Apparently, around 20 Indian cities with populations of more than two million are upgrading or planning to start building their metro systems. Having travelled a reasonable amount in India and with a half-Indian wife and extended in-law network, I find this to be a win-win proposition for TfL: even they couldn't exactly make things worse.

Six minute delay on the train into Waterloo this morning, followed by a further three on the connecting Bakerloo Line. Eight minutes late to my final destination in total for another £20.

Tube Bingo

About Me

I've been meaning to do this for a while. Like all Londoners, I'm sick of the shoddy service the tube gets away with. Starting now, I'm keeping a note of all the time of mine my tube journeys waste. At the end of the year, I'll present TFL with a bill for my professional time, currently meted out at GBP150 per hour.